'Titanic' 25th Anniversary: Director James Cameron Recalls Casting 'Luminous' Kate Winslet (Exclusive Clip)

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Titanic, James Cameron's epic historical drama that changed the landscape of cinema. In celebration of the momentous occasion, Paramount Pictures has released Titanic in a two-disc set that includes the film in 4K Ultra HD, plus a Blu-ray Disc boasting more than five hours of new and legacy bonus content, including new interviews with Cameron, star Kate Winslet, and producer Jon Landau. PopCulture.com has an exclusive behind-the-scenes clip from the new release, in which Cameron recalls Winslet being "luminous" when he first met her for casting.

"We were looking at all the young actresses, up and coming. My goal was to find the next young, beautiful Audrey Hepburn, be a kind of fragility to her, um, so that the strength could emerge," Cameron says in the above clip. "I wasn't picturing Kate, but Kate's name kept coming up. 'No, you really need to meet her.' I thought, 'All right, I'll, I'll meet her.' She was only 19, I think. She was just alive. She's just a luminous person when you meet her and she's not what you expect at all. She's from a blue-collar household in England. She swears like a Stevedore. She and I clicked right away."

Reflecting on being approached for the role, Winslet adds, "I remember being sent to treatment and thinking, 'God, this, wow, why have I been sent in this huge thing? God. Well, that would be cool.' You know, playing an American for the first time and, 'Oh, well, I hope I get seen for that.' I remember researching what it was like to have been an upper-class white woman from Philadelphia, which is where Rose was from at that time. And I sunk my teeth more into the history of where she was from and her back story and, and those things that gave me a little bit more of an underpinning as to who she was and also gave me, I think the confidence to make her my own a bit more."

In addition to the two-disc set, Titanic is also available in Limited-Edition Collector's Boxed Set that's a must-have for fans and perfect for gift giving. This spectacular set includes all of the above along with the following exclusive collectibles in an elegant slipcase: A hardcover coffee table book detailing the making of the film's most iconic scenes; a detailed schematic inspired by the actual ship blueprint, highlighting locations of key scenes; movie prop reproductions of a boarding pass, launch viewing ticket, ship menus, and notes from Jack to Rose and Rose to Cal; and sheet music for the multi-award-winning hit "My Heart Will Go On."